Page 50 of Brought By the Storm

I paused, then asked in a whisper, “Did he ever hurt you?”

Carrington gave me a questioning look. “You mean physically? No. Neither parent did. My father would be harsher with punishments, but I remember my mother once asked him why he was grounding me for a week—that it seemed excessive. He replied that it was to teach me a lesson. Her response was that she could tell I felt terrible about my transgression—which at the time had been sneaking out at night to attend a party with some friends—and that she felt I had already learned my lesson by him expressing his disappointment in me. She told him that grounding me was revenge to make him feel better, and he should stop pretending he was doing it for my own good.” Carrington snickered at the memory.

“He apologized to me and granted me a pardon. That’s how she was. She’d let him get his way on things, but if she felt he was doing something wrong or harmful, the toughness kicked in and she’d tell him so. Neither shouted at me. My mother did once, but apologized to me for doing so. She told me that if she could be respectful to people who she didn’t care for when they did something that upset her, then she could show the same respect to her own child. I will never forget that, and it will be the way I shall raise my own children one day.”

My eyes went wide. “You want to have kids?”

He shrugged. “Yes, of course. Don’t you?”

I closed my eyes, thinking any fantasy of a long-distance relationship with Carrington was just that. “Well, it’s not in the cards for me—being a gay man.”

“Why not? In your country, you can marry another man. You could adopt or even have a child through artificial insemination. Eric, do you want to have children one day?”

I sighed. “Yes. I would.”

“Then you shall,” he concluded. “I’m convinced of it. And you would be the best father.”

“Me?” I wondered.

“Yes.” He grinned. “Though not perfect.”

“Why not?”

He chuckled. “You questioned your paternal skills just a second ago. Now you fancy yourself perfect?” I shook my head to show that I didn’t, but he continued laughing. “I think you’d try very hard to please them, which is fine, to an extent. But you can’t let your children think they are your friends. You’d need a co-parent who would be willing to take a firmer hand with them—figuratively, of course.”

I wondered if Carrington was imagining himself as that co-parent. He would provide that balance, based on how he treated me. A tingle shot through my body as I thought about the possibility. “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” I conceded.

After a few minutes passed, Carrington’s phone buzzed. He reached over, glancing at the text that had been sent. “Stefan and Mateo just crossed back over the Connecticut state line. How long will it take them to get here from the border?”

“One hour,” I replied, sorry my time with Carrington would be ending.

It was as if Carrington had sensed my mood change, as he reached over to stroke my arm. “They know about us. We don’t have to hide anything from them when they return. We can still be affectionate.”

I smiled. “That would make me happy.”

“That said,” he added, “finding us lounging in our undergarments may be unexpected. Perhaps we should dress and go inside.”

I pretended to pout. “Fine. Just when you had me comfortable being naked.”

He chuckled. “If you were comfortable being naked, you should have said so. Why were we wearing underwear?”

I chuckled. “Um, to keep your dick from burning?”

He smiled. “It’s always burning when you’re around.”

I barked a laugh. “You’re a cornball.”

“You’re a cornball,” he replied.

We got up, dressed then went back into the house, unsure what to do with ourselves. “Um, what now?”

He raised his eyebrows and pulled me close. “How about you make one of the fancy feasts you’re becoming noted for? I’ll catch up with Stefan upon his return, then you can have me back at your disposal. Perhaps there’s a movie you and I could watch?”

I hugged him. “That sounds nice.”

He winked. “Indeed. And I’ll see if I can get rid of our interlopers. I’m sure they’d enjoy a nice night together at Mateo’s residence. He must have his electricity back by now.”

“That sounds even nicer,” I agreed. “For them, I mean…of course.”

“Of course,” he played along. “And it will also make it less intrusive for us when I take you later this evening.”

“Huh?”

“That is, if you’d be okay with me doing so,” he whispered.

I was pretty sure what he meant by ‘taking me.’ I was pleased that my excitement and anticipation were outweighing my usual bouts of fear. “Um, yes. I would.”

Carrington smiled, pulling me into a chaste kiss.